RAAF B-24L Liberator, A72-80
(#44-41450), "Old Nick", of
24 Squadron, ditched into Vansittart Bay after taking off from Truscott airfield in
Western Australia just before 0700 hrs on 23 March 1945. The pilot, Squadron Leader
Nathaniel Herbert Straus, radioed Truscott tower that he was preparing for an emergency landing as he was
unable to gain height. Three other Liberators took off for an armed shipping sweep.

Due to his low altitude, Straus was unable to
again locate the airfield. For 23 minutes Straus made radio contact with Truscott and the
other Liberators advising he could not gain height. At no stage did he advise what the
apparent reason was for his inability to gain height but engine problems was the most
possible cause. Straus was an above average pilot with over 1500 hours flying experience.

Probable course for A72-80

At 0713 hrs Straus advised that he was about to
ditch in Vansittart Bay. The other three Liberators saw A72-80 ditch at a fairly high rate
of descent into the sea. It disintegrated on impact and caught fire. The crew
eleven and one passenger were all killed:-

Truscott tower requested HMAS Congoola at West
Bay to proceed to the scene to search for survivors. HMAS Congoola arrived four hours
later and was able to recover the body of one of the gunners, Flight Sergeant Rodgers.
Some Spitfires and Venturas searched the area for two days.

Corporal D.W. Madden, who was not part of the crew, but went
on the flight as passenger. Only three bodies were recovered, Flt Sgt Rodgers, S/L
N.H. Straus, Flt Lt C.D.
Parry-Okeden.
All that was found of F/O Hursthouse was his shirt.

According to an Air
Board telegram (4th April 1945) his body was taken by a crocodile.A sad irony was that F/O John Wilson
Hursthouse wrote about his shirt shortly before the incident:-

13-3-1945 "....I have been hanging on to my nice thin shirts for the past month - I have worn them torn, and then had to stitch them up
every time I wore them, but today I very reluctantly changed them for new ones - I say reluctantly, because the new ones are 'high grade hessian' and I don't
think the grades are very high either - I already have one and they are terrors to wash - and they are as hot as Hanover! - but then I must look
respectable."

The pilots of the other three aircraft who
possibly witnessed the accident were F/Lt. E.V. Ford (KIA 6 April 1945), F/Lt. R.M. Beattie (KIA
2 July 1945) and F/Lt. W.W. Kirkwood. Does anyone know whether any of the other
crew members of these 3 aircraft are still alive?

The Commanding Officer of
24 Squadron arrived at Truscott airfield on 23 March 1945 to carry out a preliminary investigation. A Court of Inquiry was
later convened to investigate the crash. The official cause of the crash was given
as "undetermined".

Another theory espoused by some of 24 Squadron's
pilots was that the control lock on the control surfaces may have been jammed in the
locked position. It was common but not recommended practice to lock the control surfaces
in the neutral position for the long taxiing run to the far end of the airfield prior to
take-off, then turn straight onto the runway, disengage the control lock and then open the
throttles for take-off. It was possible if the disengagement of the control lock was
performed too slowly, that the flow of air over the surfaces during a fast taxii could jam
the controls in the locked position.

Another pilot, Tom Fitzgerald, who had been an
ex-pilot of this aircraft, thought that the problem may have been due to some damage to
the aircraft during an operation six weeks earlier.

B-24 Liberator A72-80 was received
into the RAAF on 6 October 1944.

The following is an
Extract from the Diary of Flight Lieutenant David Parry-Okeden dated 10 February
1945. He was killed 6 weeks later in this crash, and requested that should
his diary be censored he desired this "Soliloquy" be sent to his
father:-

"I wonder if one of
these days a burst will come up through the bombardier's window when I'm
bending over the sight on a run - who knows? It's in the lap of the
Gods? It doesn't worry me. There's not much time to worry about
things like that on a bombing run.

What better way to die
than in fighting for all one's loved ones. Fighting so that they can
smile and walk without fear of the ever-present dread word that a loved one
has made the supreme sacrifice. That children in all parts of the
world will play games and be happy again, without the menace of the
whistling bomb or screaming shell. That men and women will be free to
live their own lives again. Dear God! If the time should come
that I have to die; I'd die gladly if my death is the cost, that I, as one
individual have to pay for that.

F/Lt Charles David Parry-Okeden

The war has taught me much
and given me a fuller life, as in the past four years I have learned that
all men are equal, sharing danger together with men of all ranks and all
stations. I have come to learn the real brotherhood of man, the
comradeship that exists among us who fly together. The courage, fear,
bravery and make-up of men. The nobleness and gentleness underlying
rough exteriors.

War does strange things!
It turns men's thoughts to God, their hearts to deeper understanding and
their minds to a thirst for knowledge and a way of expressing their feelings
through poetry and writing. It has taught me the marvels of God and
what an insignificant puny creature is man in the scheme of things.
Flying high in the sky for long periods surrounded only by clouds and
silence that is broken only by the roar of powerful engines, earth and its
worries and material things are far removed from us.

High in the heavens at
night, with the sky aflame with its millions of pin points of light, there
is an infinite peace and beauty that is only to be found there. After
a long night to see the wonder of dawn breaking and the world and earth
beginning to unfold and take shape again, as the heavens light up and the
golden orb of the sun throws its first questing rays of light and warmth
over the hitherto darkened world. One seems to have been in another
world for a night and very close to the Creator of all the beauty one has
seen and experienced.

And a strange sense of
peace and contentment fills one's mind."

Flt Lt. Charles David (Dave)
Parry-Okeden is buried at Adelaide River War Cemetery, a well maintained and
picturesque war memorial, 113 kilometres south of Darwin, in the Northern
Territory.

David Hursthouse, the son of F/O John Wilson
Hursthouse, has flown a little in gliders and finds it difficult to believe that a pilot would not make sure that his controls were free prior to takeoff. The report indicates that the aircraft was seen to halt
prior to actual takeoff for the purpose of a cockpit check. According to a diagram that
David has the aircraft flew north west across Vansittart Bay to the next headland before doing a complete 180 and flying back towards the
airfield. It also seems to have flown round behind the strip to the south west before circling back into Vansittart
Bay. It was heading towards the airstrip when it ditched close to the shore.

David believes that the most logical
cause was the control surfaces being locked. Though the pilot obviously had control of ailerons
and rudder, otherwise he would not have been able to make the turns. The only thing that makes sense to
David would be that the elevators locked up somehow. That would explain the inability to gain height, and it also seems that Straus, knowing that he would be unable to
make a successful flare out on the strip, chose to bring the aircraft round into a position close to shore, and take his chances with the sea.
Unsuccessfully as it turned out, as probably the only way he could get down would be to close the throttles, but without the ability to "flare
out", pancaked heavily and disintegrated on impact.

IN
MEMORIAM

Flying
Officer John Wilson Hursthouse

Born:North Adelaide26th September 1913

Died:Vansittart Bay23rd March 1945

“Whether
you be man or woman, you will never do anything in this world without
courage.It is the greatest quality of mind next to honour.” JWH 6-11-41